


Chemistry

by lionwolves



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:07:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22105276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionwolves/pseuds/lionwolves
Summary: Ben Solo is the rather difficult TA (teaching assistant) of Rey’s chemistry lab. When she surprisingly finds herself struggling in class, she must elicit his help for tutoring and discovers that he isn’t quite as bad as she originally thought.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Minor Poe Dameron/Finn - Relationship, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	1. Intervention

With minutes to spare before class begins, Rey slides into the lab bench and greets her lab partner, Rose.

As she takes out her lab notebook from her backpack, she looks over at Finn sitting across from them on the lab bench, with Poe missing from the seat next to him. 

“Hey,” Finn says. 

“Hi,” Rey responds with a smile. 

The TA of their chemistry lab, Mr. Solo, notoriously known as the most difficult TA in the department, utilizes the time before class to distribute the lab quizzes from the last session. 

Rey impatiently watches him return quizzes to both Finn and Rose, eagerly waiting to see her grade. She was certain that she had performed far better on this quiz than others. 

Finally, he places the quiz paper face down on her desk and moves swiftly around her to the next lab bench. 

When Rey turns it over, she wishes she hadn’t been so eager to learn what she made.

“What?” Rey says, quietly, but loud enough for Rose to hear her.

“You know how he is, such a hard ass about grading. It’s definitely not you,” Rose assures her.

Rey appreciates her friend’s words, but it doesn’t help the feeling of disappointment in herself for making such a low grade in a subject that she has always done well in.

“This can’t be right,” Rey mumbles. 

Looking at the clock, she realizes that it is too late to inquire about her grade before class starts. She also realizes that Poe is still not in class. 

“Open your notebooks to page 57 and begin today’s experiment,” Mr. Solo announces, with no further instruction.

Rey puts her previous quiz grade behind her and begins to focus on the experiment at hand.

Minutes into the experiment, the laboratory door swings open and Poe rushes in to sit at his seat next to Finn.

“Hey,” Poe says to them casually. 

“Mr. Dameron,” Mr. Solo says. “This is the last time this tardiness will be tolerated.”

Poe turns around and nods to him. “Of course.” 

Rey looks at Finn and shakes her head. 

Although this lab experiment takes longer than others, Rey and Rose easily fall into the rhythm of the system that they’ve created after being lab partners for so long. They already know who is responsible for which parts of the experiment, so there is no confusion or delay between them. 

The way Finn and Poe work on experiments together is more like controlled chaos, but it somehow works, and often Rey will look up and amuse herself by watching them. 

Once the lab period is over and the benches are cleaned up, the students pack up their things.

“We’re headed to the dining hall, are you coming?” Poe asks Rey and Rose.

“I’ll come,” Rose answers.

“I need to stay behind and talk to Mr. Solo,” Rey replies. “I’ll try to catch up with you guys a bit later.”

As the last of the students clears out, Rey approaches Mr. Solo’s desk at the front of the lab.

“Yes?” Mr. Solo asks, not bothering to look up from the papers he is grading.

“I was surprised by the grade I made on the last lab quiz,” Rey begins.

“I don’t see why. It’s how you’ve been performing on the past few quizzes.”

Rey frowns at his flippancy. “Which is odd, truly. Chemistry is my best subject. I’ve never performed this terribly in this subject until now.” 

That makes him look up, still holding his red grading pen between his fingers. “What are you saying? That I’m the reason you’re performing terribly?” 

“In a way, yes. That is what I’m saying, Mr. Solo,” Rey replies boldly. 

Mr. Solo scoffs lightly. “Is that right?”

“It is. I’ve never performed poorly in this subject before now. I’ve tried tutors, study groups, everything I can imagine that should’ve helped, but it hasn’t. I understand that different instructors or professors have different teaching styles or expectations, and it seems that I’m failing to meet yours. Evidently, I don’t understand what you’re trying to ask of us.”

“That’s the best hypothesis you’ve had since you’ve set foot in this lab,” Mr. Solo responds. “But you’re right. You don’t understand what I’m asking of you, because you don’t want to.”

“Excuse me?” Rey asks.

“You’re so confident in the fact that you’re good at chemistry, you think your way is the best way, the only way... and you don’t want to adapt to my way. That’s why you’re failing,” He informs her.

Rey opens her mouth to object.

“No, no. It’s true,” Mr. Solo says before she can argue. 

Rey swallows, accepting that he is right. “Teach me, then. Teach me how to do it your way.”

Mr. Solo sighs. “You know, normally I would say no because you should’ve been learning this all semester, but I think you’re special, Rey. You’re the smartest student in this class with the lowest grade because you’re stubborn. That needs to change. Will it?”

“Yes,” Rey answers.

“Good,” Mr. Solo says. “My schedule is packed, but I can do Friday evenings. I know that might get in the way of whatever you get into on Friday nights but—“

“I spend most of my time in the books, actually.”

Mr. Solo studies her for a moment. “I’ll see you Friday at 6. In my office, which is on the lab syllabus.”

Rey nods. “Thank you.” 

As she exits the lab, Rey feels him watching her, but when she takes a look again, he has turned his gaze back to his papers.

  
_Friday at 6 it is._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea came from a picture of Adam Driver with glasses standing in front of a whiteboard and I imagined an AU where Ben was a TA (teaching assistant) and Rey is his student. I hope y’all enjoy this first chapter. More coming soon.


	2. Professor Solo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey arrives for her tutoring session with Ben and encounters his father.

To her surprise, Rey feels nervous as she makes her way to Mr. Solo’s office for the Friday evening tutoring session that they had arranged.

When she arrives at his office, she finds the door open, but he is currently in the company of a colleague. She steps to the side of the door where she can hear the conversation.

“Ben, you’re wasting your time with this. You need to switch majors, I can bring you in on my project, we just got a large research grant for a dig in—“ She hears his colleague say. 

Ben interrupts him. “For the last time, I don’t want to do paleontology, Dad. I don’t want to do political science like mom, either, and she’s fine with that. I’m doing what I want, making my own path, even if it’s hard, and I hoped that you’d be proud of me.” 

Rey hears the emotion in Ben’s voice and swallows. 

“I’ll always be proud of you, son. I just want you to succeed. Be set up for life. I can make sure of that,” His father says. 

“We’ll have to continue this argument later. I have a student coming for tutoring.”

“ _ Tutoring _ ? At this time of night on a Friday?”

“It’s the only time that I don’t have my graduate seminars.” 

“Just be careful about getting involved with a student,” His father warns. 

“Why? That’s how you and mom got together,” Ben fires back in a snarky tone. 

Rey hears footsteps exiting Ben’s office, so she turns to walk away so that it doesn’t seem as though she was eavesdropping.

“Hey!” She hears behind her, so she turns around to see Ben’s father. 

“You were waiting for Mr. Solo?” He asks, regarding her for a moment.

“Yes, and then I saw that he was in a meeting.”

“It’s over, you can head in now,” He informs her. 

“Thank you—“ Rey begins, unsure of what to call him.

“Professor Solo. Han,” He introduces. 

“I’m Rey.”

“Have a good night, Rey,” Professor Solo says before he walks past her down the hallway.

Finally, Rey heads into Ben’s office.

“You’re late,” Ben says without looking up from his papers.

“No,” Rey denies.

He looks up at her.

“I arrived at 5:59. You were engaged in a meeting with... your father.”

“Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?”

Rey blushes. “What? No. We spoke outside. He introduced himself to me and I made the connection between your last names.”

Ben chuckles lightly at her explanation. “I don’t care if you were eavesdropping. You arrived on time and I kept you waiting. What else was there for you to do?”

“Oh.”

“Are you going to stand there for the entire session? Sit down,” He tells her. 

Rey takes a seat in front of his desk and sets her books down on the only free space in the clutter.

“What your father said...” Rey begins hesitantly. 

“He says a lot of things.”

“About getting involved with a student.” 

“I wouldn’t do that. It’s unprofessional, against the rules, and besides, I’m far too busy with my research to be involved with anyone at all,” Ben explains. “Don’t worry. That is not what this is. I would never cross that line.”

“No! Of course. I didn’t think you would...” 

“Why did you bring it up?”

“I was curious. You’re really hard to read.” 

“He met my mother when she was his student,” Ben says, in more of a mumble. 

“Are they still together?” Rey questions.

“No. He’s never around. Always gone on paleontology projects across the world.”

“He hoped you’d follow in his footsteps,” Rey observes.

“He used to bring me on some of the trips when I was younger, so we could bond, but he was the head of the projects, I get it, he couldn’t focus on me and the dig. I spent more time with his research assistant.” 

Rey nods in understanding. 

“Why am I telling you all this? I don’t share any of this with anyone,” Ben admits. 

Rey feels rather special that he would share such personal information with her. 

“But enough about me, we need to focus on the lesson. Clearly, we’re going to have to start from the beginning.” 

Rey tries to re-focus her mind on chemistry, but she knows that she will see Mr. Solo in a different light from now on, as  _ Ben.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally updated! I hope y’all enjoy. For the record, I am not trying to paint Han as a bad father, just as a father that was focused on his career and there is tension between he and Ben.


End file.
